The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects.

I say violence is necessary. It is as American as cherry pie.

You should never have your best trousers on when you go out to fight for freedom and truth.

The more corrupt the republic, the more numerous the laws.

Written laws are like spiderwebs: they will catch, it is true, the weak and poor but would be torn in pieces by the rich and powerful.

It is impossible to tell which of the two dispositions we find in men is more harmful in a republic, that which seeks to maintain an established position or that which has none but seeks to acquire it.

The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all.

The U.S. presidency is a Tudor monarchy plus telephones.

Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.

A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul.

Let him who desires peace prepare for war.

Whether for good or evil, it is sadly inevitable that all political leadership requires the artifices of theatrical illusion. In the politics of a democracy, the shortest distance between two points is often a crooked line.

The vice presidency isn’t worth a pitcher of warm piss.